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- Home
- Live Lobster
- Just the Live Lobster for Two!
Live Hard-Shell Maine Lobsters
Boiling: We've taken the time to speak with hundreds of lobstermen and chefs, all of whom agree that boiling is the easiest, and often the best, method for preparing live lobster. Let us walk you through your experience with step-by-step instructions for optimal, and delicious results. DIRECTIONS: Keeping the lobsters in the provided cooler, fill the appropriately-sized pot (see below) with enough water to cover the lobsters and cooler. Place the water-filled pot atop the stove and bring to a strong boil. Adding salt to accelerate boiling is not recommended: it may result in an over-boiled lobster. Firmly grasp the lobsters behind their arms and carefully plunge them head-first into the boiling water. Some people prefer to cut off the rubber bands, making the case that the rubber affects the taste, but this is optional. If you decide to remove them, be careful, those claws can hurt! Cover the pot with a lid. You may hear a whistling sound as the air begins to escape from the shells. Be mindful of splashing water and any over-boil. When the water returns to a full boil, set a timer for the appropriate cooking time (see below). Continue cooking uncovered and reduce heat as necessary to maintain a soft boil. While the lobster cooks, prepare lemon/butter sauce. Simply melt butter over very low heat and, if you'd like, add lemon sliced in quarters. Make sure you try some lobster without any butter or lemon first, though! As your cooking timer expires, your lobsters should be deep red to pink in color. Be sure to wear rubber kitchen gloves or appropriate protection when handling to prevent burns. Carefully remove your lobsters from the pot with tongs or other utensils, and place them on a plate. Let them sit for a few minutes so that the juices can soak into the meat.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
The strategic planning process began 6 months ago when the 30-person planning team, composed of members representing the diverse stakeholder groups in the district, met for the 1st time. Using a consensus model of decision making, the group was able to reach 100% agreement on a list of core shared beliefs, a new mission representing the community's loftiest aspirations for the district, objectives, strategic parameters that will guide implementation of the plan, and 7 unique strategies designed to achieve the objectives and mission.
More than 280 volunteers then took over and met on Monday nights between February and May to design operational action plans for each of the 7 strategies identified by the planning team. Participation on action teams was open to anyone who stepped forward. Students, parents, community members, teachers, staff, and administrators all participated in groups. The action teams also used a consensus model of decision making that required everyone in the room agree before an item would become a part of the plan.
A similar planning process will be instituted at each of the district's 72 schools in the next 4 years to create site-based plans that align to the district's new strategic plan.
The San Juan Unified Board of Education adopted a 5-year results-based strategic plan at a special meeting on June 23 that also celebrated the 6 months, 12,000 combined hours, and dedication of more than 300 volunteers that went into developing the plan.
San Juan Unified School District's Strategic Plan 2010-2015 (PDF) aligned and focused resources in the district toward achieving 1 unifying mission:

subset: commoncrawl


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Last week, several major news outlets reported on a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) released by the White House regarding the Fiscal Year 2013 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In the SAP, President Obama lays out 32 reasons why he is likely to veto the newest iteration of the NDAA.
The headlines announcing the President's promise to reject the NDAA are identical to those published early last December, just a couple of weeks before the President took time off from his Hawaiian vacation to sign the measure into law. Somehow, President Obama was able to set aside his issues with the act and grant himself the power to indefinitely detain Americans without charge or trial.
Recently, we reported how those very provisions — those purporting to give the President the expansive and unconstitutional powers described above — remain in this year's NDAA, despite the best efforts of a handful of constitutionally-minded representatives.
Last month, by a vote of 238-182, members of Congress rejected the amendment offered by Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Justin Amash (R-Mich.) that would have repealed the indefinite detention provision passed overwhelmingly last year as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 NDAA.
Not only does the 2013 NDAA retain the indefinite detention provisions, but the section permitting prisoners to be transferred from civilian jurisdiction to the custody of the military persists, as well.
"The frightening thing here is that the government is claiming the power under the Afghanistan authorization for use of military force as a justification for entering American homes to grab people, indefinitely detain them and not give them a charge or trial," Representative Amash said during House debate on his amendment.
In his impassioned speech supporting his proposal, Representative Smith reminded his colleagues that the NDAA granted to the President "extraordinary" powers and divested the American people of key civil liberties, as well as divesting civilian courts of their constitutional jurisdiction.
Smith pointed out that there was no need to transfer suspects into military custody as "hundreds" of terrorists have been tried in federal courts since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Congressmen — Republicans and Democrats — were not persuaded and they voted against Smith-Amash.
Even a cursory reading of the revamped version reveals the presence of these most unconstitutional grants of power, despite assurances that the new language is less offensive to our nearly-1,000-year history of enjoying these basic civil liberties.
For example, Section 1033 of the mark-up version passed by the committee is pointed to by Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, as proof that habeas corpus is protected in the 2013 legislation. Here is the current text of that updated provision:
This section would state that nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) or the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Public Law 112-81) shall be construed to deny the availability of the writ of habeas corpus in a court ordained or established by or under Article III of the Constitution for any person who is detained in the United States pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40).
The double-speak contained in that paragraph is impressive even for a Capitol Hill lawyer.
Read it very closely: The new bill does nothing to prevent the indefinite detention of Americans under the 2013 NDAA; furthermore, it only reiterates that habeas corpus is a right in courts established under Article III of the Constitution. That such a right exists in the courts of the United States has never been the issue. The concern of millions of Americans from every band in the political spectrum is that Americans detained as "belligerents" under the terms of the NDAA will not be tried in Article III courts, but will be subject to military tribunals such as the one currently considering the case of the so-called "Gitmo Five." There is not a single syllable of the 2013 NDAA that passed out of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday that will guarantee that Americans will be tried in a constitutional court and not a military commission.
Curiously, furthermore, McKeon's mark-up ties the fundamental right of habeas corpus not to the Constitution (or the nearly 900 years of Anglo-American common law), but to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force where the protection of that right is severely diminished. Such sleight of hand should not go unnoticed, particularly when it is performed by one who flies under the "Republican" banner.
Of equal interest to constitutionalists is the fact that in the President's roster of reasons to oppose the 2013 NDAA, "Constitutional Concerns" comes at the very end.
In fairness, some might argue that although it is the last thought on President Obama's mind, at least it made the cut and at least he demonstrates some level of recognition of the preeminence of that document.
Not so much. Read for yourself the President's so-called "Constitutional Concerns":
"A number of the bill's provisions raise additional constitutional concerns, including encroachment on the President's exclusive authorities related to international negotiations."
That is President Obama's way of saying that in his opinion, the newest NDAA doesn't give him enough power.
Ironically, there is a considerable constitutional concern in the President's complaint. In that last paragraph of the SAP, the White House asserts that the President has "exclusive authorities" over international relations, apparently meaning treaties.
Article II of the Constitution explicitly gives the Senate a say in the negotiation of international agreements:
"He [the President] shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur…."
As he has in so many other arenas, President Obama is actively trying to banish from the arena of authority all those (including the people's representatives in Congress) who would challenge his "right" to absolute rule.
Next, the eight-page policy pronouncement seems to principally target two topics over which the President wants his allies in Congress to understand that he will demand unchallenged authority.
First, there is the provision of the proposed update to the NDAA that places restrictions on the President's power to implement the new START treaty and to unilaterally make the call to "retire, dismantle, or eliminate" America's nuclear arsenal. Again, in this paragraph of the Statement, the President incorrectly calls the Constitution as a witness for his case. The White House insists that the President's "authority as Commander in Chief" includes the right to "set nuclear employment policy."
Signed by President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010, the so-called "New START Treaty" aims to reduce by half the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers and sets the permissible number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550.
Once again, President Obama has ably performed his signature autocratic pas de deux. In his policy declaration, he assumes absolute power to make treaties and to unilaterally decide how these treaties will be implemented. Neither of these purported "powers" has any constitutional provenance.
Finally, when it comes to the President's self-appointed role of judge, jury, and executioner, the SAP warns that certain provisions present in the 2013 NDAA infringe upon "the Executive branch's ability to carry out its military, national security, and foreign relations activities…."
Then, as if the point wasn't fine enough, the President, seeing a potential violation of "constitutional separation of powers principles," informs Congress that if "the final bill presented to the President includes provisions that challenge critical executive branch authority, the President's senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."
President Obama's notion of separation of powers is novel: He sincerely believes that the Constitution separates his powers from any congressional oversight and from any legal or legislative challenge. His power to rule is absolute and exclusive. Any act to the contrary will be summarily rejected.
Originally Published at The New American
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Wednesday 7 September 2011
Baked beans - that recipe seems very familiar
The recipe for Smoky Baked Beans was one from Veganomicon that I had seen on both Where's the Beef and Veganise This. Cindy had used tinned beans and Mel had used dried. I had good intentions to follow Mel's lead but Saturday was so busy with Fran and John's party and making cherry ripe cake pops that I ended up using tinned beans. As it was, I found myself making these in the evening around dipping cake pops in chocolate and watching the excellent new hospital drama, Monroe.
I was rushing around to get the beans cooking before I sat down to dinner in front of Munroe and misread the time that the beans needed to simmer on the stovetop. Hence my beans were a little more stodgy than Cindy and Mel's looked. I was grateful for their advice regarding the sweetener. Cindy advised that the recipe was very sweet, as American recipes are wont to be. Mel halved the golden syrup. I did too but I still had to add extra salt and found it too sweet. It may also be that I think the original recipe may have used molasses which is quite bitter as well as sweet.
Our brunch was very very good. E had requested a fried egg. This is a bit outside my area of expertise but I did my best. The potato scones and veggie sausages (just from a packet) were nicely done. We ate later that I had intended but it was just as well. We ate lunch at 2.30 because other family members were juggling in-law commitments. Though the beans were quite sweet, I still found them delicious on toast for dinner on Sunday night and with bangers and mash on Monday night.
I am sending this post to Steph of Vegan about Town for That Recipe Seems Very Familiar..., an event that she is holding to celebrate the 2 year anniversary of Planet VegMel. For those who are not familiar with it, Planet VegMel is an aggregator blog. It collects posts from Melbourne vegan blogs (and vegan-friendly blogs like my own). This is an amazingly welcoming group of bloggers who make great food. It is a fantastic place to see what others are eating - have met many great bloggers both virtually and at potlucks. There is even an upcoming potluck to celebrate the anniversary.
Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Isabella's Cafe - lighthouse gourmet
This time two years ago: Superhero Cake – Kapow!
This time three years ago: In Search of the Green Smoothie
Smoky baked beans
Adapted from Veganomicon via Where's the Beef and Veganise This
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 x tin of cannelini beans (I used 1 cannelini and 1 lima beans)
1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
2 - 4 tbsp golden syrup
2 teaspoons mustard powder
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup water (optional but necessary if you misread the timing)
Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the olive oil in a oven proof casserole dish, add the onions and fry for about 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Add the garlic and stir through for a minute. Mix in the tomatoes, golden syrup, mustard powder, salt, allspice, and smoked paprika - only add a little golden syrup and salt and taste to check if you need more. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes are softening (oops I did 30 minutes and added the beans at this point).
Add beans to the tomato mixture. Cook in the oven for an hour, stirring once about half way through (I didn't stir). Remove bay leaf and serve warm.
On the Stereo:
With my little ukelele in my hand: oh how she could play the ukelele (disc 2): Cliff Ukelele Ike Edwards
14 comments:
I agree that they can be a bit sweet for some people's tastes. Baked beans have never really been my thing but the man loves them. Well he did enjoy them until I made them one too many times and now he is sick of baked beans which is fine by me! At time I have used tomato passata rather than tinned tomatoes which gives the beans a bit more sauce.
ReplyDeleteI love homemade beans - I have never made them myself but I often order them at cafes. In Sydney at a cafe in The Rocks visitors centre, I had spicy smoky baked beans - so good. I just bought a tin of cannelini beans only because they were on sale, so half of this recipe sounds like a fab way to use them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharan - nice to hear from you again
Thanks Lisa - yes smoked paprika does it every time
Thanks Mel - I like the idea of using passata - it seems to give a thicker sauce than tinned tomatoes - I love tinned baked beans but find them on the sweet side and esp find the reduced salt ones too sweet. Yes try the potato scones - very easy and yummy
Thanks Kari - these were closer to tinned ones than other baked beans recipes I have tried - one I tried was quite different with rum, molasses and yoghurt but I have never blogged it - you might need a bit of trial and error to find what works - I am still to find my perfect recipe - though might be able to tweak this one
Thanks ricki - interesting to hear how your palate has changed with a different diet. I am still swithering over whether I get veganomicon
Thanks Cindy - who needs eggs with these dishes - it is quite enough protein for me in the morning! And it was great and not too much effort once I made the beans the night before
Thanks Hannah - it has crossed my mind that Sylvia might take over some time - she did make her dad a very fetching purple sparkly cardboard crown for fathers day so she is doing her best!
Thanks Chele - it is worth a try - so much more satisfying than the tinned ones
Thanks Cakelaw - I order them at cafes where I can too - love to see how different people make them - hope you get to try them
Thanks Lorraine - home made baked beans are ideal for me because they have to be made the night before and are so great to wake to - and who has much energy in the morning
Thanks Joanne - try them - they are great for any meal - I am very partial to a baked bean sandwich and had them with burgers this week - excellent!
Thanks for dropping by. I love hearing from you. Please share your thoughts and questions. Annoyingly the spammers are bombarding me so I have turned on the pesky captcha code (refresh to find an easy one if you don't like the first one)


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• contumacious •
Pronunciation: kahn-tê-may-shês • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Flagrantly disobedient, stubbornly, willfully resistant, rebellious.
Notes: Today's word is actually built out of the noun contumacy "perverse obstinacy", a much better noun than its long and boring synonym, contumaciousness. Unfortunately, there is no way around the adverb, contumaciously, which will keep listeners waiting almost as long.
In Play: Take today's Good Word with you to work: "Bringing any change to this company while those contumacious old fogies are sitting on the Board is simply impossible." This doesn't mean that there are no household uses for it: "Getting three contumacious kids to clean up their rooms would try the powers of a saint—and I'm no saint!"
Word History: Today's Good Word is an English makeover of Latin contumax "arrogant, obstinate". As in English, the X is a writing conceit hiding two letters (CS, pronounced [ks]), so the real stem of this word is contumac-. This Latin word is made up of con "(together) with" + tumere "to swell", as with pride. The root is also found in tumor, tumescent and, possibly, tumultus, which English borrowed as tumult. The same root came through the ancient Germanic languages to English as thumb and as the name of the thumb hat, thimble. (Without a trace of contumacity we would like to thank Anthoni Mayoto for suggesting today's Good Word.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!


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Friday October 28, 2016
Welcome to the end of October.. I have one more day to work and I will be RETIRED!!!!! Sweet totally sweet.
Well today is Free Friday at Bugaboo.. I hope you head over to Catch the bug and see the design teams cards using this cute image.
This is the Free Friday image called Football Nut.. I colored him with Seattle Seahawk colors. the lime green and blue.. The colors look better in person.. I found this cool designer paper by Teresa Collins and thought with the travel that the teams do this would be great. Added some ribbons behind the postage die. Fun cute happy card.
Craft your passion #335 - anything goes
Artistic inspirations #166 - anything goes
Word art Wednesday wk. 254-255 - anything goes
Penny's paper-crafty #301 - anything goes
Simon Wednesday - anything goes
Crafty catz #344 - anything goes/twist die/punch
Your next stamp #51 color challenge
Art by Miran #70 - anything goes
Color crazy wk. 25 - anything goes


text: "Robert G. Brown" <rgb at phy.duke.edu> writes: > I'm not quite sure what you mean by "vast numbers of teeny high > latency requests" so I'm not sure if we really are disagreeing or > agreeing in different words. I mostly have worried about such schemes in the case of, say, 10,000 people connecting to a web server, sending an 80 byte request, and getting back a few k several hundred ms later. (I've also dealt a bit with transaction systems with more stringent throughput requirements, but rarely with things that require an ack really, really fast.) That said, I'm pretty sure event systems win over threads if you're coordinating pretty much anything... >> Sure, but it is way inefficient. Every single process you fork means >> another data segment, another stack segment, which means lots of >> memory. Every process you fork also means that concurrency is achieved >> only by context switching, which means loads of expense on changing >> MMU state and more. Even thread switching is orders of magnitude worse >> than a procedure call. Invoking an event is essentially just a >> procedure call, so that wins big time. > > Sure, but for a lot of applications, one doesn't have a single server > with umpty zillion connections Well, often one doesn't build things that way, but that's sort of a choice, isn't it. Your machine has only one or two or eight processors, and any other processes/threads above that which you create are not actually operating in parallel but are just a programming abstraction. It is perfectly possible to structure almost any application so there is just the one thread per core and you otherwise handle the programming abstraction with events instead of additional threads, processes or what have you. > If the connection is persistent, the overhead associated with task > switching is just part of the normal multitasking of the OS. That overhead is VERY high. Incredibly high. Most people don't really understand how high it is. If you compare the performance of an http server that manages 10,000 simultaneous connections with events, versus one that handles it with threads, you'll see there is no comparison -- events always beat threads into the ground, because you can't get away from threads requiring a new stack for each thread, and you can't get away from the fact that context switching is far more expensive than a procedure dispatch. > Similarly, many daemon-driven tasks tend to be quite bounded. If a > server load average is down under 0.1 nearly all the time, nobody cares, That implies almost nothing is in the run queue. For an HPC system, one hopes that the load is hovering around 1. Less means you're wasting processor, more means you're spending too much time context switching. But I digress.. > Still, it is important to understand why there are a lot of applications > that are. In the old days, there were limits on how many processes, and > open connections, and open files, and nearly any other related thing you > could have at the same time, because memory was limited. Believe it or not, memory is still limited, and context switch time is still pretty bad. Changing MMU contexts is unpleasant. Even if you don't have to do that, because you're using another thread in the same MMU context rather than a process, the overhead is still quite painful. Seeing is believing. There are lots of good papers out there on concurrency strategies for systems with vast numbers of sockets to manage, and there is no doubt what the answer is -- threads suck compared to events, full stop. Event systems scale linearly for far longer. > Or maybe not. If you make writing event driven network code as easy, > and as well documented, as writing standard socket code and standard > daemon code, the forking daemon may become obsolete. Maybe it IS > obsolete. It is pretty easy. The only problem is getting your mind wrapped around it and getting experience with it. Most people have been writing fully linear programs for a whole career. If you tell them to try events, or try functional programming, or other things they're not used to, they almost always scream in agony for weeks until they get used to it. "Weeks" is often more overhead than people are willing to suffer. That said, I am comfortable with both of those paradigms... > So, what do you think? Should one "never" write a forking daemon, or > inetd? It depends. If you're doing something where there is going to be one socket talking to the system a tiny percentage of the time, why would you bother building an event driven server? If you're building something to serve files to 20,000 client machines over persistent TCP connections and the network interface is going to be saturated, hell yes, you should never use 20,000 threads for that, write the thing event driven or you'll die. It is all about the right tool for the job. Apps that are all about massive concurrent communication need events. Apps that are about very little concurrent communication probably don't need them. >> Event driven systems can also avoid locking if you keep global data >> structures to a minimum, in a way you really can't manage well with >> threaded systems. That makes it easier to write correct code. >> >> The price you pay is that you have to think in terms of events, and >> few programmers have been trained that way. > > What do you mean by events? Things picked out with a select statement, > e.g. I/O waiting to happen on a file descriptor? Signals? More the former, not the latter. Event driven programming typically uses registered callbacks that are triggered by a central "Event Loop" when events happen. In such a system, one never blocks for anything -- all activity is performed in callbacks, and one simply returns from a callback if one can't proceed further. The programming paradigm is quite alien to most people. I'd read the libevent man page to get a vague introduction. -- Perry E. Metzger perry at piermont.com


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Monona Parks and Recreation begins accepting shelter reservations on the first working day of January for Monona residents, and the first working day of February for non-residents.
Show All Answers
Ahuska Park Shelter – 400 East Broadway
Fireman's Park Shelter – 4800 Winnequah Road (corner of Winnequah Rd. & Progressive Ave.)
Oneida Park Shelter – 1305 Neponset Trail (corner of Neponset Tr. & Tecumseh Ave.)
Schaefer Shelter – 1011 Nichols Road (north of the Monona Community Center)
Winnequah Dream Park Shelter – 5301 Healy Lane
Winnequah Park Gazebo – 1012 Nichols Road (across from the swimming pool)
Schluter Park Gazebo - 4511 Winnequah Road (across from Monona Bait & Ice Cream)
All Monona City parks are open from sunrise to 10:00pm
Yes! This can be done a few ways:
Call (222-4167) or come in person to the Monona Community Center during business hours (M-F 8:30am-4:30pm)
Contact us by email: firstname.lastname@example.com
View availability online HERE
No. Unfortunately, due to staffing constraints we can only clean a shelter once a day. Because of this we limit shelters to one reservation per day.
No, all shelter reservations must be paid in full at the time of reservation.
Reservations for a shelter may be made 3 ways:
By calling the Monona Parks & Recreation Department at 222-4167
In person at the Monona Community Center, 1011 Nichols Road
Online by clicking HERE
If there are issues on the day of your rental, please call Monona Police at 222-0463. Please bring your copy of the Permit with you to the park to verify your reservation.
Our parks are public parks so no keys are needed to open doors into the shelters or for the restrooms. Keys may be checked out for the kitchens at the Ahuska Park Shelter and Fireman's Park Shelter. Renters are responsible for picking up the keys, when needed, at the Parks & Recreation Office before your event (Monday-Friday between 8:30am-4:30pm) and must be returned promptly afterwards.
Your shelter reservation gives you exclusive use of the shelter building ONLY. You and your guests are welcome to use the area around the facility, but there may be other park users on site as well. Exclusive use of the ball diamonds, tennis courts, and playground equipment is NOT included with a shelter reservation.
Please refrain from moving the tables under the shelters any more than necessary. If you do move them, please replace them when your event is finished. If you need more tables than the number normally at the shelter, you can rent additional tables by calling the Parks & Rec office at least one week prior to your event.
Alcohol consumption is allowed in the parks, but please note the following:
Glass containers should not be taken into the parks.
The shelter renter is responsible for all alcohol-related issues that arise from the event.
Minors MAY NOT be served at any time.
No money can change hands in exchange for alcoholic beverages. If alcohol is sold in city parks, an alcoholic beverage license is required.
You are allowed to bring portable grills into the parks, however you must make certain that they and their contents are completely removed at the conclusion of your event. Please do not dump charcoal on the ground! Campfires are not allowed in the park.
The use of amplified sound devices is only allowed between the hours of 10:00am to 8:00pm when an Amplified Sound Permit has been obtained. This permit needs to be approved two weeks prior to the event. Contact the Parks & Recreation Dept. to obtain this $50 permit.
Any structure such as tents, trailers, dunk tanks, inflatable play equipment, personal & promotional equipment, and other structures must have a Temporary Structure Permit. This permit needs to be approved two weeks prior to the event. Contact the Parks & Recreation Dept. to obtain this $75 permit.
Please gather all of the trash and recyclables from your event and dispose them in the trash containers provided at each location. There are extra garbage bags in the bottom of the trash/recycling bins if you need them during your event.
Please park only in the designated parking lot and on streets surrounding the parks. Do not park on the grassy areas. No vehicles are allowed on park property at any time. Loading & unloading of a vehicle must be from the parking lot or street only.
A Kitchen Cleaning Check-list will be located in the kitchen and needs to be satisfactorily completed.
Patrons are allowed to decorate, although we do ask that you completely clean up the area before leaving. Please note that water balloons, glitter, and confetti are not allowed at park shelters.


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Anacostia Community Museum Attempts Record-Breaking Ring Shout
Traditional dance in which participants dance counterclockwise in a circle to the beat of clapping and a stick that is banged on a wooden surface
The Anacostia Community Museum is sadly at the end of one of its most visited exhibitions in recent history—the show "Word, Shout, Song" was so popular, it had been extended for four months. This weekend the show closes. But don't worry, it it is slated to make a reappearance as a traveling exhibition.
"Word, Shout, Song" traces the social and linguistic history of the Gullah people back to their ancestral homeland of Africa, following the work of 20th-century linguist and professor Lorenzo Dow Turner.
Turner became fascinated by the language of the Gullah people, which was previously dismissed simply as "bad English," and discovered that the dialect was actually a mix of 32 diverse African languages. The Gullah people have their roots among the 645,000 Africans captured, enslaved and brought to America between the 16th and 19th centuries.
On Saturday, July 23, the museum will hold a special event celebrating the final days of the exhibition. "Family Day: All Things Gullah" will include everything from storytelling to food, music and crafts. Around 3:30 p.m., the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters and the Santa Barbara Shout Project will attempt to lead the crowd in an attempt to break the record for the world's largest ring shout.
A ring shout is a traditionally religious African-American dance in which participants dance counterclockwise in a circle to the beat of clapping and a stick that is banged on a wooden surface. The stick takes the place of drums, said Griffin Lotson, manager of the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, because slaves were forbidden to beat drums on plantations in the 18th century.
"People really love it," Lotson said. "For us, it's basically about keeping the culture alive and pumping in some new life."
Lotson said only a handful of groups that practice the tradition remain in the U.S., so his group does their best to preserve and protect the culture of the Gullah people, who today live in areas of South Carolina and Georgia.
He added that part of the reason the tradition has faded out is that after the Civil War, many Gullah did their best to adapt to mainstream American culture in order to better fit in, often abandoning traditions like the Gullah language of Geechee and rituals such as the ring shout.
"Being a Geechee was super unpopular–I was taught not to be Geechee," said Lotson, who was born in 1954. "'You're too Geechee, boy,' they'd say. Because it wasn't mainstream, you couldn't get the better jobs, you talked funny."
Today, Lotson said, he and his group do their best to maintain what has been an unbroken thread of a unique culture within the U.S. through traveling and performing across the country. Lotson and most of his group are direct descendants of plantation slaves, and Lotson's grandfather and mother were both involved in preserving the ring shout tradition.
"I think this exhibition is great," Lotson said. "'It be my people,' as we say in Geechee."


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Doctor Who on Points Of View
Well those criticisms were hilariously OTT.
Unrealistic and not scientific? Well obviously! It's Doctor Who, not a science documentary. Why on Earth would a science-fiction drama show be realistic and scientific?
Doctor Who is as scientifically accurate as it always has been. (i.e. not very.) That's kind of the whole point, it's meant to be fun and at the moment it's just that – fun.
While I have felt unengaged on a few stories this year I don't think any of them were terrible. Flawed and unfocused maybe but not actually rubbish.
It's also meant to be dramatic and at the moment it isn't because of all the "fun". The show needs to make up tis mind what it wants to be – larks and japes in Time and Space with loads of overacting and comedy aliens, or something dark and mysterious (which the finale attempted but failed because it was too bogged down in all the mythology baggage the show has saddled itself with of late). We really need to 'reset', a bit like we did in 2005 when it was all new, all fresh and unencumbered by obscure continuity.
I can't help feeling that judging the current series on The Rings of Akhaten is akin to judging the whole classic era on Dragonfire.
Spot-on, Paul Mount. Couldn't agree more. This rushed spectacle the BBC and/or Moffat is pushing on us as genuine drama is laughable, at best. Of this entire season, HIDE and COLD WAR are the only two that stick out as fresh, proper DOCTOR WHO. Everything else has been a mad scramble to save budget and pretend they're still honoring the show's history. It's ridiculous and smells of marketing schemes and focus groups.
The finale was especially irritating. How can I go to YouTube and find better Photoshop mergings of Classic and Modern Who than what I saw last Saturday night? Random no-names dressed as The Doctor running past? Was that supposed to inspire me? At least seven of those guys are still alive. Why not use the actual actors? Cheap.
And then they're going to skim over one of the most "sacred" of moments in DOCTOR WHO mythology (he theft of the TARDIS) by inserting the current Mary Sue? Can you imagine the insanity if RTD had done that with Rose? Also, why was One dressed as if he's already been to Earth? Why was Susan fully-grown? Makes no sense!
I'm sure others enjoy the show. That's cool. Personally, I think this season has been the worst since, probably, 1987 or '88. Just awful in all regards. Matt Smith alone deserves better.
I am hoping that after the 50th anniversary we can all just relax and enjoy Doctor Who as a TV show.
Lately, every episode has to be so perfect. Each episode has to be the greatest episode ever. Moffat, Smith et al need to stop telling us how "epic" the next episode is. Fans need to stop acting like every time they don't like something that happens on Doctor Who that they have to rush to the internet and be avenged.
Doctor Who has survived far worse episodes, actors, and showrunners than what we have seen recently. I wonder what Douglas Adams work on the series would have looked like if Moffat or RTD had been showrunners.
So to paraphrase MST3K we need to relax and remind ourselves its just a TV show.
As far as I'm concerned those guys are watching a completely different show than I have. I thought Season 7 was the strongest season since the show came back. Ironically the only episode I didn't care for is the only one given positive notice in that clip – Nightmare in Silver. And even then I'd hardly rank it down with Fear Her or anything. And I'm sorry, anyone who wants to ruin my fun by demanding a show I love be taken off the air simply because they don't like it anymore should just go away.
@Paul Mount: Shut your mouth! Doctor Who should never be reset. It must always progress, it could quite be a story that never ends. The universe needs the Doctor and everything he stands for. If there were to ever be a hiatus again, so be it. But hopefully not for another decade or two. I could see the Doctor retiring for awhile for various reasons, but the Doctor should be forever. I do prefer for the show to be darker though. Where it had been progressing before with the 10th Doctor. Doctor Who should never abandon it's continuity either. That's part of what makes it so unique and great!
We're back to the late 1980s. Moffat, Smith and all the regular contributors are doing an exceptional job…If they keep on moaning we'll be back to the '90s, taking what ever little drip of Who magic we can get.
As for all the critism of the references to the past, it's the big 50. If they didn't reference the past, you'd all be moaning about that. Grow up!
I love everything that Moffat has done, scaling things back after the 'Alien Invasion of the Day' RTD brought about. And Matt Smith is everything a Doctor should be. Unrealistic! What do you expect? Half the people complaining haven't even seen an old school Who story. -
Nee's comment made me giggle. Why on Earth would a science fiction drama be scientific? Hmmm…I wonder…!
Is it so wrong if this program is made for 6 year olds? I was watching at 6 back in the 80's – it's still a family show now, so I don't see this as a legitimate gripe.
I found Oliver Bolton's viewer video to be boring, unrealistic, and not very scientific at all. Ever since Simon Barnes took over as Executive Producer of Points of View, the viewer videos have gone completely downhill. I'm worried that it's now inevitable the BBC will axe Points of View – I think we all remember the 8-year hiatus when it was off the air completely!
Science fiction is rarely scientific – especially on television. In fact, the few times the BBC has attempted realistic 'hard SF' (such as 'Star Cops' or 'Moonbase 3') the results have been poorly received by viewers and generally regarded as unsatisfactory. Let us not forget, too, that for most people the acme of science fiction is still Star Wars and Star Trek, neither of which contains as much as a scrap of real science (and in the case of Trek, even less drama).
this series of doctor who has been loads better than series 6 imo.
if people not like it then don't watch!
o -
"I'm just making up nonsensical adventures, what's wrong with that?" – Steven Moffat
Everything, Steven, everything! I don't count current Who as part of the same series I grew up with.
It's a horrible mess, with endless flashbacks, voice overs and gimmicks, all included to try and make some sense of the tedious Doctor-centric 'stories'.
Matt Smith doctor is an irritating mix of Mr.Bean and a stalker. Nasty. You can keep it, ta!
I am so tired of Doctor Who now. The show has turned for the worst. The sonic screwdriver is a magic wand, the Sontarans are not threatening anymore and worst of all the Daleks are a rainbow of colors. The stories are obviously written for kids and only have classic villains in them to keep the old fans quiet. I was so looking forward to Moffat taking over the series but at the end of the first season I got lost with the story and lost interest. Keep Matt Smith as the Doctor, but get a new head writer for the series please!!!!


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Peter Schmidt (artist)
British artist (1931-1980)
Peter Schmidt (17 May 1931 – 22 January 1980) was a British artist, painter, pioneering multimedia exhibitor, and an influential teacher. He was part of a generation of art school teachers in the 1960s and 1970s that had great impact on some students who later went on to work in art and music. He worked with Hansjörg Mayer, Brian Eno, Mark Boyle, Dieter Roth and had associations with Russell Mills, David Toop and Tom Phillips.
This article about an artist is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it. |
Quotes edit
Ten Freedoms (1977) edit
- You need not kill
You need not steal
You need not be unfaithful
You need not lie
You may honour your father and mother
You need not desire other people's things
You need not desire other people's bodies
You need not make images
You may rest sometimes
You may love God.
- You need not kill
Quotes about Schmidt edit
- My friend Peter Schmidt used to talk about 'not doing the things that nobody had ever thought of not doing', which is an inverse process – where you leave out an assumption that everybody has always made and see what happens (e.g. music has to be made of intentionally produced sounds was the assumption that Cage left out).
- Brian Eno, in A Year With Swollen Appendices, p. 178


text:
It's BEC: Ultracold rubidium-87 atoms are finally cold enough
Cold atoms are going to generate hot research at William & Mary.
A small collection of rubidium-87 atoms in Seth Aubin's Small Hall lab has reached Bose-Einstein condensation after being chilled to a level near absolute zero.
Producing a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a reason for William & Mary's physicists to celebrate, but it's good news for the general public, too. Aubin notes that the science of ultracold atoms can lead to innovations such as atom laser-based interferometers, quantum computing components and ultra-accurate atomic clocks, an essential part of improved GPS and navigation systems.
The lab confirmed the BEC in mid-September. Five years of work has gone into the cooling of the atoms to a temperature of around 100 nanokelvin. That's a hundred billionth of a degree Kelvin, just a bit balmier than absolute zero. For comparison, water freezes at 273 Kelvin and deep space is about 3 Kelvin.
At such extreme temperatures, atoms cease behaving like billiard balls, in accordance with Isaac Newton's laws of motion and, as per the principles of quantum mechanics, take on a wave-like form, explains Aubin, assistant professor of physics at William & Mary.
Physicists use ultracold atoms in the BEC for experiments at the atomic level that otherwise would be impossible. Working with atoms in the quantum state gives researchers a high degree of quality control, Aubin says.
"In the BEC, all the atoms are in exactly the same state," he explained. "They're all identical. That's why they are so useful in experiments. Because they're all the same, the outcome of your experiments are going to be the same. It's perfect for controlled conditions."
The lab is able to produce the BEC reliably, once every 40 seconds or so and maintain the state for a second or a little less—plenty of time for laboratory purposes. "Each individual experiment only lasts a tenth of a second," Aubin says.
This demonstrated ability to produce BEC reliably and regularly opens a variety of doors. For one, Aubin's lab can move forward on long-planned experiments to investigate atomic behavior that has remained largely or entirely theoretical. Aubin notes that BEC capability opens new opportunities for funding from federal grant agencies.
"We were in kind of a Catch-22," he said. "We'd request funding and program officers would say, 'Well, do you have BEC?' That's what we needed the money for!"
The lab cools the atoms through a complex laser-driven thermodynamic process. The apparatus is essentially home-built by Aubin, his Ph.D. students Megan Ivory and Austin Ziltz and a cast rotating over the years of perhaps a dozen undergraduates in William & Mary physics department. They received support from the Jeffress Memorial Trust, Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the Army Research Office. The Thywissen research group at the University of Toronto donated an atom chip, the device that holds the BEC in place.
Ivory, assisted by new Ph.D. student Andrew Pyle, will soon begin experiments to simulate a predicted electrical phenomenon known as quantum pumping, using lasers to produce a current of BEC atoms, rather than a current of electrons generated by a voltage source, such as a battery. Ziltz will begin experiments on trapping atoms using radio-frequency magnetic fields. New Ph.D. student Charlie Fancher is working on improving the apparatus to produce larger and faster BECs, using a laser on loan from Old Dominion University.
Aubin says he also expects to starts interferometry experiments to study the effects of gravity and forces at the atomic level. One such force is the Casimir-Polder force, which is the cause of attraction between an atom and any surface near it. A greater understanding of such phenomena will advance the development of nanotechnology applications, he noted.


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Developer Challenge at Open Repositories 2011 (Austin, Texas)
DevCSI will once again be organising the Developer Challenge at Open Repositories 2011 (Austin, Texas, USA)!
JISC has been supporting a 'Developer Challenge' for the Open Repositories (OR) conference for a number of years. Last year, DevCSI (JISC funded) issued a 'Developer Challenge' for OR10 which was quite specific. This year, for OR11, DevCSI have decided to open this up again, but with a couple of small 'twists'.
The Challenge
In 2009, you were asked to "Show Us the Future of Repositories". In the world of open repositories there has been a lot of development since 2009, so we've decided to pose this overarching challenge to developers once more:
'Show Us the Future of Repositories'.
However, we are also going to be offering two special additional prizes.
Firstly, we are aware of exciting developments going on using the SWORD protocol. For this reason, we'll be offering a special additional prize for the most innovative use of SWORD in an open-repositories context. Please note that any entries that are using SWORD can also be entered for the main challenge above.
For more information about SWORD, please see:
Microsoft Research
Secondly, as this year's challenge is kindly being supported by Microsoft Research, they are going to award an additional prize to any developers who submit an entry to the challenge that makes an innovative use of Microsoft technologies. This can be anything from Zentity, SharePoint repository integration, Microsoft Translator, Windows Azure cloud storage, Microsoft Academic Search, Word, PivotViewer, Kinect etc. Visit the Dreamspark site for free access to a wide array of developer tools. Again, any entries that are using Microsoft Technologies can also be entered for the main challenge above.
For more information about some of these technologies see:
The tag for the challenge is:
#or11dev and #devcsi
Contact for the Challenge
How do I get involved in the Developer Challenge?
The deadline
We have decided to announce the challenge before the conference, with just under a month to go, you will have plenty time to start working on your entry now, up to the deadline for entry, which will be Thursday 9th June 2011, at 3pm (GMT – 6).
How you enter
Individuals / Teams must post their entry / idea / intention to enter using the OR11 Crowdvine Discusion Forum – Developer Challenge section. Please put your: name, where you work, the name of the entry and if possible a URI to more information about your entry. If you don't already have an account, you will need to register first on http://or11.crowdvine.com/. The idea of using OR11 Crowdvine is so that you can get other people who are attending the conference to be actively involved in what you are creating, e.g. get feedback on the ideas, user testing etc, promote your entry and cheer you on when you are presenting!
Please note, you will be required to present your entry to an audience on Thursday 9th June between 5.15 – 6pm (GMT – 6), see the 'Show and Tell' section.
The Developer Lounge
If you are attending OR11, why enjoy the specially prepared 'Developer Lounge' which is comfortable, has good wireless and power to help you develop your winning entry at the conference. We are organising some presentations from previous winners in this room, there will be opportunities to speak to potential judges, previous prize winners who can talk about your entries. Also there will be time to practice your 'pitch' to others before the Thursday 'Show and Tell' session.
The "Developer Lounge" will be in the Carillon Private Dining rooms 1&2 at the conference venue, just follow the 'Developer Lounge Footsteps'. The lounge will be available from:
Tuesday 7th June to Thursday 9th June 2011 (3pm)
The lounge opens each day at 10am and closes at 10pm. On the final day, Thursday, it will close at 3pm.
The lounge is a 'flexible' space, so you are encouraged to attend other exciting parts of the conference at this time if you so wish and even promote your entry to other delegates. The lounge is intended to support those who are entering the challenge, you can treat this place as your little 'base' for the event and you can use it as a chance to talk to other developers, exchange ideas, talk tech, get advice etc. The room will have flip charts, a projector, caffeine, snacks, wireless, lots of power sockets, a pitching area, video cameras, etc. Designed for geeks!
Sessions at the Developer Lounge
We will be running several sessions in the lounge, but will run this flexibly depending on interest and time.
Meet the judges
A chance to chat to the judges for the challenge and for them to give developers informal feedback on what they are doing. Please let us know if you are interested in doing this.
Meet the conference delegates
We have invited the conference delegates to come into the Developer Lounge space to see what developers are doing, to chat to them, even give them ideas and feedback. Please let us know if you are interested in doing this.
How to pitch properly
A chance to practice your pitch ready for the presentation on Thursday in the 'Show and Tell' sessions. We have some useful guidelines, tips and tricks to make your presentation look slick and professional. Please let us know if you are interested in doing this you can even watch yourself back and see what you need to do to improve!
Feedback on your ideas
Organisers of the challenge will be on hand to give you advice, support and feedback on your ideas to ensure it is focussed on the challenge.
I have problem…
Are you working on the challenge and you need some help. Tell what it is and if we can't help, we will try and find someone that can.
I have an idea but I am not sure if it is any good
If you have an idea, and want to discuss with us, please do and we can give you honest feedback, whether it meets the challenge, whether it is too ambitious, or needs bolstering.
Show and Tell
All the submitted entries for the challenge will be asked to present their entry to an audience of conference delegates and a panel of judges, between 5.15pm – 6pm (GMT – 5) on Thursday 9th June, 2011, at the AT&T amphitheater 203. Free drinks and snacks will be available from 4.45pm -5.15pm. Depending on the number of entries, there maybe time for questions about your entry. There maybe the possibility of giving your presentation remotely, but it will have to be done live (please liaise with Mahendra Mahey if you intend to do this). Audience reaction to each entry will be noted.
Once all the submissions have been presented, the panel of judges will be left to retire to make their final decisions.
Prizes for the Developer Challenge at Open Repositories 11
The prizes will be awarded at the OR 11 conference dinner on Thursday the 9th June, 2011, from 7pm (GMT -6). There will be a first prize and runner up for the main challenge sharing an award of $2000.
There will be two additional prizes for:
- The most innovative use of SWORD in an open repositories context- $500
- The most innovative use of Microsoft Technologies in an open repositories context. The Microsoft Research prize will be some Microsoft Tech – likely to be an XBOX360 and Kinect.
1. Entries should come from at least one developer though teams are welcome.
2. The entries should be presented in person, at OR11. If a team is entering, not all of the team members need be present at the conference, but at least one team-member should be. Remote presentations would be considered in exceptional circumstances (you will need to liaise with Mahendra Mahey), but these will need to be given 'live' during the 'Show n Tell' session, see above.
3. Individuals / Teams must register their entry / idea / intention to enter / using the OR11 Crowdvine Discusion Forum – Developer Challenge section. If you haven't already, you will need to create an account to do this, see, http://or11.crowdvine.com/, click "create an account" and then fill out your profile.
4. Individuals / Teams can enter before the conference and may change their idea/entry up to the deadline which is 3pm (GMT – 5 hours), Thursday 9th June, 2011.
5. Prototypes do not have to be working code, mock interfaces are acceptable, though working code is obviously preferable and will judged more favourably.
6. Prototypes should primarily be presented as user interfaces, not as bullet points or architectural diagrams.
7. If the prototype consists of only mock interfaces (e.g. "photoshopped" or a "paper prototype"), then there should be a brief explanation of how the interface could be built using a particular code base / architecture.
8. New code for prototypes is encouraged, though previous written code is allowed to be used.
9. The same code may be used in multiple prototypes, sharing of code is encouraged.
10. No code is off limits for use so long as it is legally used, third party libraries, applications and web services are fair game.
11. Participants must ensure that entries do not in any way infringe copyright or other intellectual property rights of any third party.
Judges and Judging Criteria
The judges for the Developer Challenge for OR11 will be:
The judging process will use the following methodology:
- Judges will agree on the top two prototypes and recommend a winner and a runner up. They will also decide on a winning prototype for the most innovative use of SWORD and use of Microsoft Technology. An entry can win a prize for the SWORD and/or Microsoft Technology category and the overall prize.
- When entries are marked, if a consensus cannot be reached, then the chair of the judging panel will be responsible for the final decision.
- A representative from JISC/DevCSI will oversee the judging process.
- The evaluation criteria for the competition are: innovative, visionary, relevance to the user problems, coolness, usability, plausibility for adoption, functionality and overall fit to the challenge.
Awarding of Prizes
- The main prize and runner up prize money will be divided equally between each person.
- The secondary prizes for SWORD and Microsoft Technology can also be awarded the main prize.
- The prize must be spent on the travel, board and expenses on attending a conference related to developer activity, e.g. JISC's Dev8D, O'Reilly Tools of Change, ApacheCon, OR11, etc.
- The winners / runners up must be willing to participate in a post meeting interview about the submission and future ideas for development.
- The winners / runners up must be willing to have their name and picture published by DevCSI.
- The winners / runners up must be willing to write brief documentation about the submission to aid others in building on the work. The documentation will publicised by DevCSI.
Previous Challenges
The Developer Challenge at Open Repositories 2011 builds on the success of the previous three software developer competitions that have been held at Open Repositories:
- Developer Challenge at Open Repositories in Madrid 2010
- The winners of Developer Challenge in Madrid 2010
- Developer Challenge at Open Repositories in Atlanta 2009
- The winners of Developer Challenge at OR09
- Open Repositories in Southhampton 2008
- The winners of Developer Challenge at OR08
Background to the Challenge
Each year a significant proportion of the delegates at Open Repositories are software developers who work on repository software or related services.
For the last three years they have been invited to participate and submit entries to a 'challenge'. A space in the conference has been set-aside at the start, 'The Developer Lounge', a flexible space where developers can work on their entries but also attend specific parts of the conference. A deadline has been set where they submit their entries. These are then short-listed by pre-determined criteria and some entries are awarded special recognition.


text:
What to Know
- The new plan will be $9.95 monthly and will include "many major studio first-run films"
- MoviePass's parent company received a loan last month to help the company make payments to its merchant and fulfillment processors
- AMC's comparable subscription service has enrolled 175,000 subscribers, surpassing the company's initial expectations
MoviePass is again changing the terms of its movie subscription service, announcing Monday that customers will be limited to three movies per month for one fee.
Under the service's new plan, moviegoers can see up to three movies each month for a $9.95 monthly fee, the company said in a news release. It is a significant change from its initial offer that allowed users to view one movie per day for the same price.
Customers will also receive up to a $5.00 discount on any additional movie tickets.
"We believe this new plan is a way for us to move forward with stability and continue to revitalize an entrenched industry and return moviegoing to everyone's financial reach," MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the new subscription plan, which goes into effect Aug. 15.
MoviePass changed its service plan after company data revealed few customers used the app to see a movie every day. Fifteen percent of MoviePass subscribers used the service to see four or more movies each month, the company said in the release.
U.S. & World
The new plan will include "many major studio first-run films," the company said. When MoviePass announced its intention to increase the monthly fee to $14.95 last week, the service said users wouldn't be able to watch major blockbuster films until the third week they were in theaters.
Customers were critical of the price increase, prompting the company to walk-back that decision when it introduced its new subscription plan Monday, stating that "we have heard -- and we have listened to -- our MoviePass community."
The changes to the service also address ticket scalping and unauthorized card usage, both of which created additional expenses for MoviePass.
"We believe this new business model will immediately reduce our burn so we can refocus our efforts where they belong: making a permanent and positive change in this industry by creating an amazing theater-going experience and building a company that continues to benefit our nationwide community, said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of Helios and Matheson, MoviePass's parent company.
The decision to limit the number of movies users can see comes more than a week after MoviePass temporarily ran out of cash. At that time, customers reported on social media that they were unable to check-in.
As a result, its parent company received a loan worth over $6 million following a "service interruption" that prevented MoviePass from making required payments.
In the past few months, MoviePass has also prevented users from seeing the same movie multiple times.
In June, AMC introduced its own monthly movie program after criticizing MoviePass's business model. AMC said last week its new program features more than 175,000 subscribers, exceeding the company's own projections.


text:
Instead was a form letter, but in a very interesting format.
The beginning of the form said that my story was rejected, and that the Editor-in-Chief reads all the stories himself, but due to the number he receives, he cannot always read the entire thing. There was a list of options below that that said: "How Much I Read Of Your Story", and the square for "The Entire Story" was checked off. Despite the rejection, this was good news.
It meant he'd read the entire story of "My Brother's Own Words".
It also meant that he'd had a desire to read it all the way to end, which says something positive about my writing.
Below that was a list of reasons why he didn't choose my story. The option for "You have some interesting ideas, but it just didn't 'do it' for me" was checked off. An ambiguous reason, to be sure, but look at the options that were not checked off:
-I couldn't buy the premise. (Which meant he did buy my premise! About a boy who's mother is a parrot!)
-There wasn't enough "meat" on the story - too thin (Which meant my pacing was good, and that I spread it out well!)
-Too many syntax errors (credit my mother's editing skills for the reason that wasn't checked off)
-Story has nothing new to tell (I'm creative! He thinks I'm creative! Wheeee!)
There were others, but I cannot remember them all, except for the fact that their lack of being checked-off made me feel very proud of myself.
But best of all, at the very bottom of the page in loopy handwriting, was the message "
And on top of that, I have yet to receive a positive/negative response from CICACA Magazine, so there's still hope coming in the mail.
And that, my dear readers, is why this was the best form rejection letter I've ever received.


text:
Over the last 10+ years, I've written some Mozilla Firefox Add-ons which have achieved relatively decent popularity (currently ~270,000 users). Some were written to request, some for my personal use, and some just to learn something new.
You'll find all of these Add-ons available for install at the Mozilla Add-ons site.
My Add-ons
- Image Toolbar
- Save, copy and print images with a single click.
- New Tab Homepage
- Loads your homepage when you open a new tab.
- Context Search
- Right click and search using a selection of search engines.
- Context Highlight
- Right click and highlight all instances of the selected word within the page.
- Foobar Controls
- Control the Foobar2000 MP3 player from your toolbar.
- Paste Quote
- Pastes text, surrounding it with [quote][/quote].
If you like using these Add-ons, please do send a small donation. I never really set out to make money from these projects (which is just as well, because I haven't!), but it's always nice to receive a small contribution towards hosting costs and evening/weekend hours that I used up to push out a fix.
- £1 - £5 - £10 - Other amount…
The Firefox Add-ons I have written are open source and available on GitHub. If you have suggestions or find bugs, then please raise issues in the relevant GitHub projects. If you are a programmer, feel free to fork and contribute.


text:
Apple released a range of updates to the its Mac applications last week along with the release of Mountain Lion on Wednesday. Most of those updates were to integrate new Mountain Lion technologies and provide general compatibility with the new OS.
Among them were updates for Apple Remote Desktop, Apple's extremely powerful and flexible remote management solution for Mac systems. In addition to offering support for Mountain Lion, the update also added a couple new features focused around some of Apple's latest hardware, but no major changes. In fact, one has to wonder why this amazing Mac IT solution has gotten so few updates over the past few years.


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Photo Source:
Christiaan Triebert - Flickr
Creative Commons
Map Source:
Bethany World Prayer Center
People Name: | Hasania |
Country: | Sudan |
10/40 Window: | Yes |
Population: | 822,000 |
World Population: | 822,000 |
Primary Language: | Arabic, Sudanese |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Christian Adherents: | 1.40 % |
Evangelicals: | 0.10 % |
Scripture: | New Testament |
Online Audio NT: | Yes |
Jesus Film: | Yes |
Audio Recordings: | Yes |
People Cluster: | Arab, Sudan |
Affinity Bloc: | Arab World |
Progress Level: |
The Arabs are one of the world's largest and most rapidly growing ethnic groups. In the seventh and eleventh centuries, Arabs invaded North Africa, causing many tribes and pre-Islamic Saharan nomadic groups to be displaced. These invasions also overran and absorbed, to some extent, the passive communities of black farmers, Jewish artists and Berber refugees who lived in and around the oases and trading centers of the northern desert. For this reason, many different Arab groups exist throughout North Africa today, including those tribes that have become "Arabized."
The Arabs are subdivided into thousands of ethnic groups and subgroups based on their particular Muslim sect, Arabic dialect and regional adaptation. A majority of the Arabized tribes of South Sudan speak Sudani, one form of Arabic; however, one group, the Mongallese Arab, speaks Creole Arabic, a somewhat different form.
South Sudan is one of the poorest and least developed countries of the world. Most of its inhabitants are dependent on farming and animal production for their livelihoods. For most of the Arabized tribes, agriculture is the basis of the economy. Sorghum and millet are their staple crops, along with watermelons, gourds, okra, sesame and cotton. They also raise cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and dogs. Cheese and butter are made from the milk of both the cows and goats.
Not all of the Arabized tribes are farmers. Some tribes, such as the Arabized Midob and the Mongallese Arab, are nomadic herdsmen, traveling from place to place with their herds of cattle and camels in search of better grazing lands. Other Arabized tribes, such as the Hasania and Husseinat, have become successful businessmen and merchants in South Sudan. These groups are deeply engaged in the commercial activities of the cities in their region.
Most of the Arabized tribes live in permanent settlements or villages. Their houses are simple round huts with thatched roofs. The nomadic groups live in temporary camps due to their constant migrating tendencies. They usually live in dome-shaped shelters made of branches covered with grass. In the cities, where the few merchants and businessmen live, the houses are generally rectangular in shape and have tin roofs.
The Arabized tribes of South Sudan dress in similar fashion to those people of other Arabic communities. They typically wear sandals, cotton turbans or caps and long-sleeved cotton tunics called djellabas.
Most of these groups live much like the Arabs of other regions. Their lives revolve around important ceremonies such as birth, marriage, death and the first haircut and circumcision for boys. The most elaborate of all ceremonies is the marriage ceremony. Polygamy (having more than one wife) is a common practice among the Arabized tribes. However, according to Islamic law, a man cannot have more than four wives. After marriage, the newlywed couple generally lives with or near the husband's parents. However, in some groups, the young couple will live with the wife's family until after the birth of the first child.
With the death of Mohammed in A.D. 632, the Arabs erupted from the desert pastures of Arabia and overran the lands to the east and west. They intermarried with the local North African tribes and introduced them to Islam. The tribes began adopting the traditions and practices associated with Islamic culture. The spread of Islam continued and became even more advanced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when many schools of religious learning were founded. Today, virtually all of the Arabized tribes are 100% Muslim.
The majority of the Arabized tribes are not being ministered to by missions agencies and there are no known believers living among them. Further evangelistic work and much prayer are needed to penetrate the hearts of these precious people with the Light of the Gospel.
Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to go to North Africa and share Christ with these Muslims.
Pray that the Christians of South Sudan will be compelled to take the Gospel to their unreached neighbors.
Ask God to strengthen, encourage and protect the small number of Tira Christians.
Pray that Bibles, Christian broadcasts and other literature will be made available in the Sudani language for each of these tribes.
Ask the Lord to raise up Christian medical teams to work among the Arabized tribes.


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Our authentic Indian curry mixes are made by Spice Raks Food Co - simply combine with the ingredients below for a delicious meal with no mess and zero waste that's 100% authentic.
You can choose to have the curry mix on its own, or with all the ingredients supplied by us in our family meal deal. We do a meat or vegetarian version for each.
Oo La La Onion Bhaji: Delicately spiced gram flour creates this light, crispy and moreish family favourite
Choose From: Just the spice mix or opt for the Vegetarian Meal Deal and we will include all the raw ingredients you need to whip up this tasty dish, enough to feed the family, all delivered to your door!
What is included in the Meal Deal:
Spice Mix
2 Large onions
At Veg Box Fresh, we will do our very best to get your order delivered to you as quickly as possible.
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- Joined: Jun 18, 2022
- Last Login: Jun 18, 2022, 1:32pm CDT
If you are relatively new to the sport and are, perhaps, addicted, you likely want to play pickleball at the any-and-every opportunity. You will probably ask yourself, "Where can I play pickleball and find a court near me?" The first thing I would do is go online, navigate to your favorite search engine and do a keyword search. In the search box, type in "pickleball near me" or "pickleball court near me." You'll likely get some relevant results.


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December is a busy yet lovely time of the year here at Sugargarden. This year, among sugar flower projects and new cake designs I managed to create this easy tutorial for one of the most classic of Christmas decorations: the Holly.
You can make a few now and store them in a cardboard box until needed.
Use the lovely little sprays to decorate mini-cakes or cupcakes (please be advised that wired floral decorations are not designed to be eaten, due to the presence of inedible elements like wire and floristry tape) or add a tag and use them as place holders or Christmas table decorations.
Elegant and understated, holly is so easy and fun to make in gumpaste, I never get tired of it. I hope you will enjoy making holly berries and leaves as much as I do. So, if you are in the mood for an easy but rewarding DIY project this Christmas just check out this tutorial and have fun!
I wish you all my best and a really Merry & sweet Christmas time.
Susanna x
[Click on the picture for a larger view]
• Non-stick board
• Foam pad
• Rolling pin
• Ball tool
• Edible glue
• Cornflour
• White vegetable fat
• Wire cutters
• Pliers
• Green floral tape
• Half strength Confectioner's Glaze / Edible varnish
• Clear alcohol
• Flat brushes for dusting
Holly Berries:
• White gumpaste
• 33 gauge green wire
• Dust food colours – poinsettia, ruby red, blackberry
Holly Leaves:
• Pale green gumpaste
• 28 gauge green wire
• Leaf veiner or dresden tool to mark veins onto the leaves
• Holly leaf cutters
• Dust food colours – holly and foliage green
For the leaves:
Work some Pale green gumpaste and roll out on a lightly greased board, leaving a ridge for the wire.
Cut a leaf with the holly leaf cutter. Moisten a 28-gauge green floristry wire with edible glue and insert into the leaf. Soften the edges with a ball tool and shape. Let firm and colour with holly and foliage green.
For the berries:
Cut short lengths of 33-gauge wire, make a tiny hook at one end of each. Roll a tiny ball of Poinsettia SFP, about the size of a small pea. Lightly moisten the end of one wire with edible glue and insert in the middle of the ball, leaving the tip of the hook barely visible. Tinge the top of the hook with blackberry edible dust diluted with a drop of clear alcohol. Dust the berry with poinsettia and ruby dust food colours.
Dip leaves and berries in half-strength confectioners' glaze, or spay with edible varnish. Let dry.
Assemble the leaves first and then the berries with mid-green floristry tape. Add a tiny ribbon at the base of the leaves if you wish.


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Digital Forensics
Computers have changed the way that we analyze and compute information, and specialized knowledge in this industry is valuable. This program will give you the skills you need to enter the field of computer forensics in a public or private environment. Students who complete this degree have a myriad of career options available to them, including computer forensics investigators, technicians, and analysts.
Program Highlights
- Develop a knowledge base about computer crime
- Learn the proper ways to investigate and analyze computer and internet security
- Prepares you to enter the exciting field of computer forensics
Degree Program | Prepares You for | The Next Level |
Digital Forensics |
A career as a computer crime investigator, computer forensics technician, or internet security analyst. | Enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year college. |


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Consumers have drastically changed their approach to grocery shopping during the past decade. They combine online and offline planning with in-store visits and make more informed and cost-effective purchasing decisions. Because this new path to purchase is completely reshaping how consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers have to communicate with shoppers, SymphonyIRI Group is examining common and emerging merchandising trends that marketers can implement to satisfy consumers in its latest Times & Trends report, "Merchandising Trends: Supporting the Value Proposition."
"Smartphones, digital coupons, online retailers and the Internet combined with financial pressures and shifting marketplace dynamics are forever changing how consumers shop," says Susan Viamari, editor of Times & Trends, SymphonyIRI. "If you want to reach and resonate with shoppers today, you need to do more than traditional in-store merchandising. Emerging and evolving technologies have enabled innovative marketers to begin reaching shoppers in their homes while they are researching products and making their lists, and then reinforcing their messages on the way to the store and in the store when consumers are making their final selections. Marketers that keep pace with and embrace this opportunity will achieve success, while those who fail will find it difficult—even impossible—to remain relevant and competitive."
Merchandising has long played an important role in the CPG industry. It builds excitement, educates consumers and drives awareness. For those reasons and more, many categories rely heavily on merchandising activity to spur purchase behavior.
During the past couple of years, more than one-third of CPG categories sold considerable volume—30–50%—with merchandising support. Still, on the whole, the past year has seen mixed trends. Merchandising—defined as display, feature ad, feature and display combined and price-only actions—increased across just more than half of CPG categories and declined in 47% of categories.
Trends in grocery and convenience channels closely mirror the industry average, but the drug channel has a different story to tell. During the past few years, merchandising support has been declining within the drug store channel. In 2012, support declined in 60% of the categories within the channel.
Marketers are investing merchandising dollars in an effort to raise the profile of categories that cater to prevalent consumer rituals and underscore the value propositions they offer across key ritual-related categories. With consumers placing an increased focus on preplanning their shopping trips, embracing promotional strategies that begin to impact the shopper before she enters the store is well-advised.
Obviously, the purpose of merchandising is to spur consumers into action and make a purchase. Merchandising that accomplishes this goal is said to have achieved sales lift. In recent years, merchandising lift has changed dramatically. In fact, average lift has declined across 80% of categories within the U.S. multi-outlet geographies, which include Walmart, military commissaries and select club and dollar retail chains along with the traditional food, drug and mass merchandise outlet coverage. Grocery and drug channels have seen average lift fall across 70% and 73% of categories, respectively.
Resonating with shoppers begins by reaching out with the most effective media, but preferred media can sometimes vary significantly across CPG categories. While above-average heavy newspaper readership spans many major categories, fewer categories show above-average heavy Internet usage.
On average, one in five consumers consider themselves to be a heavy user of the Internet, while only 25% of razor blade consumers fall into this category. This group also over-indexes in the consumption of outdoor media, while being much less likely than average to be heavy users of television. In contrast, among analgesics buyers, television and newspapers are leveraged much more frequently than the Internet. And, cold/allergy/sinus buyers are much more likely than vitamin buyers to get their coupons on the Internet.
"The 'old way' of doing things is simply not as impactful as it was in the past," Viamari adds. "To capitalize on new and evolving opportunities, marketers must enmesh the broad and rapidly growing array of old and new media tools at their disposal. They must take chances and not be afraid to make mistakes."


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The Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five, and Guster have started an environmentally friendly music tour and help promote the Lacey Act.
On Monday, REVERB, a non-profit focused on making music tours more environmentally sustainable, launched 2013's "Last Summer on Earth" tour at the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, Texas. The tour features Barenaked Ladies, Guster, and Ben Folds Five.
Each of the concert venues will include an interactive and educational "Eco-Village" with tents where music fans can learn about ways to protect the environment and fight climate disruption. One of the issues that concert-goers can learn about is the risks of illegal logging and the importance the Lacey Act, a century-old piece of legislation that prohibits trade in illegally harvested timber.
"As musicians, it's important for us to know where the wood in our guitars, drumsticks, and other instruments comes from -- and whether it got here legally," said Adam Gardner, guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster and co-founder of REVERB. "Our music is meant to bring people together, and that includes everyone from our fans who listen to our music to the workers who made our instruments to the communities who live in the forests where the wood comes from."
In addition to helping to identify the origin and legality of a product, the Lacey Act and its 2008 amendments help reduce deforestation and combat climate disruption dramatically. Trees are the Earth's natural filter for carbon dioxide, and they use the greenhouse gas to produce oxygen. Deforestation itself contributes to as much as 17 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
"Forests are invaluable. They help regulate the global climate, clean our air, and are home to indigenous communities who are protecting their land from illegal and destructive logging," said Ilana Solomon, Sierra Club's trade representative. "The Lacey Act is a vital piece of legislation and one of the strongest tools we have against the climate crisis."
"The illegal trade of timber and wood has led to the destruction of invaluable forest ecosystems as well as human rights abuses," said Kate Horner, director of Forests Campaigns at the Environmental Investigation Agency program. "The Lacey Act sends a strong signal to companies that they must stem the flow of illegal timber imports, or face the music. We are heartened to see these bands educating fans about the destruction of illegal logging and the importance of having such laws like the Lacey Act on the books."
Each Eco-Village will have a booth dedicated to the Lacey Act, where visitors will be able to send messages to government leaders, asking them to continue to enforce laws like this fundamental act. Visitors to the Eco-Villages will also be able to work on other environmental issues like local food, e-waste recycling, and environmental education.
The tour will run through July 30, 2013 where it will end in Brooklyn, NY. For more information on the summer tour's green initiatives, please click here.
This free educational webinar will provide a detailed process for climate-driven "pre-response" in a variety of key areas including: Supply Chain Disruptions, Employee Safety and Productivity, Regulatory and Compliance Risks …and many more areas.


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Jon Meacham SRO at The Jefferson Hotel
Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham packed in admirers at a Washington Women Technology Network "Cocktails and Conversation" gathering on Friday, November 20th at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC.
Meacham's new biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, is already a New York Times Bestseller. Meachan spent 17 years writing the book with access to President Bush's personal diaries. He interviewed the president many times over the years, his family, colleagues and political enemies. Meacham's previous biography of President Andrew Jackson, American Lion, won him the Pulitzer Prize.
Meacham, a Washington favorite, began his writing career at The Washington Monthly and became the youngest Newsweek editor where he created legendary covers and controverises with politicians and people of all stripes. He is currently and editor at Random House.
Co-hosted by Connie Milstein, co-founder of Dog Tag Bakery, Democratic commentator Hilary Rosen,and Julie Goon from Anthem, the crowd watched Megan Murphy, Bloomberg Bureau Chief and Tammy Haddad, WHCInsider editor, interview Meacham as he discussed the decades of public service and political moments that made President Bush's career. It was an insider's inside conversation detailing their triumph's and disappointments. The interview will be uploaded to WHCInsider.com next week.
The Friday afternoon crowd included politicos and media. Stephanie Cutter, Neera Tanden, Holly Page, Kelley McCormick, Jill Zuckman, Jennifer Maguire, Ceci Connelly, Emily Lenzer and David Chavern. Long time Obama White House aides Ferial Govashiri and Ellie Schafer and the State department's Nick Schmit.
Bushies including Anita McBride, whose husband Tom McBride, was a longtime personal aide to President Bush.
Journalists seen were James Hohmann, Glenn Thrush, Hadas Gold, Ruth Marcus, Henry Schuster, Jackie Kucinich and Carl Cannon from Real Clear Politics.


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- Advanced University Degree (or equivalent)
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Maximum of 20 participants/class.
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excluded are meals and accommodation in Vienna and all transportation.


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Missoula's Walk to End Alzheimer's Will Be September 15
Walk to End Alzheimer's is a nationwide event that aims to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer's care, support and research. This amazing event takes place in 600 communities nationwide. Now, it is Missoula's chance to come together and help support this great cause. Show your support Sunday September 15, 2013 at Fort Missoula Park.
Check in and registration will be at noon. The walk will officially start at 1 p.m.. There is no fee to register, each individual participant is expected to fundraise in order to help raise awareness and contribute to the cause.
At the walk you can learn more about the disease, as well as some of the support programs and services offered here in Missoula.


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(visited by Matt Goff)
29-Jan-2000 - It was a beautiful sunny day and I figured that it was as good a time as any to go visit the confluence point nearest to me. I headed out with my laptop (for the maps it has) and my GPS. I attempted to take what looked to be the shortest route, but unfortunately it had quite a bit of snow on it. After managing to get my pickup unstuck from snow with the help of a shovel, some pieces of wood, and finally tire chains (it was a good thing I did not have those on in the first place because I probably would have driven even further into the snow and gotten really stuck), I went back and encountered no further trouble on the better travelled roads.
I was able to drive to about .75 miles from the confluence point. After a bit of a hike through patches of trees and mostly snow covered fields, I made it to the confluence point on the side of a hill in the middle of a field.
I have a few more pictures and a somewhat more detailed description of the trip on my webpage.


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Roy Rogers' Horse Trigger
The Question:
Where was Roy Rogers' original horse, Trigger, born?
The Answer:
Trigger was a palomino stallion. Originally named "Golden Cloud", Trigger met up with Rogers in 1938, after he (the horse) had just finished performing in The Adventures of Robin Hood. Roy and Trigger began their lengthy film career together with Washington Cowboy.
Trigger died in 1965 at age 33, which is old for a horse. His impressive equine career had earned him the title of "the smartest horse in the movies." After his death, Rogers had Trigger stuffed and mounted. Trigger presently rests among the exhibits at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum.
Unfortunately, we've uncovered no information on where Trigger was actually born. For more information on Roy and Trigger, check out the official Roy Rogers - Dale Evans Web Site.
-The Fact Monster


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Here's a sign of the digital times: in a recent study conducted by Dynamic Markets, technology employees said they thought E-mail outages were more stressful than car accidents or divorces.
While the survey provides a glimpse of the strange but beautiful planet inhabited by IT workers, it also points up just how much employees—and, by extension, their employers—depend on electronic mail. Technology research firm IDC estimates that by next year, U.S. businesses will send a staggering 35 billion E-mails each day. Indeed, a survey of corporate executives by research firm META Group Inc. found that electronic mail is now more important to business operations than phone service.
Given this growing corporate reliance on electronic messaging, you'd think CFOs, CIOs, and risk managers would have plans in place to keep the mail running. And you'd be wrong. While scores of companies shored up their business-continuity plans after 9/11, only 9 percent of companies expect their messaging abilities to operate after a disaster, according to Osterman Research. Over half of those contacted by the consultancy indicated it would take more than four hours to restore E-mail in the event of a blackout, terrorist attack, or natural disaster.
Currently, a phalanx of companies—including IBM Corp., SunGard Data Systems Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Co.—offer E-mail recovery as part of overarching business-continuity services. But of late, a number of smaller software vendors, such as Evergreen Assurance and MessageOne, have launched packages focused squarely on emergency E-mail services. Such offerings, which cost considerably less than the $10,000 per month charged by some disaster-recovery specialists, should hold real appeal for corporate shoppers—particularly those at smaller businesses. As Matt Cain, a senior vice president at META Group, notes: "Companies are being slapped in the face with the fact that they cannot afford to have E-mail go down."
Plan B
Annapolis, Md.-based Evergreen provides customers with a secondary E-mail data system. If a client's primary system fails, the customer simply switches over to the backup. Evergreen also maintains two remote sites to monitor customer- data replication and support customer access to data. Evergreen's services cost $1 to $6 per user per month, depending on the location of the mirrored environment. There is also a one-time setup fee of $3 to $18 per user.
MessageOne, based in Austin, Tex., takes a slightly different approach. The company's Emergency Messaging System (EMS) service is a Linux-based program that backs up users' E-mail address books, contact lists, and other critical information to provide emergency access. If a client's main E-mail system goes down, the customer activates the EMS service. Employees can then access their E-mail via the Web. In addition, corporate administrators can choose to allow E-mail to be forwarded (on a person-by-person basis) to designated wireless devices, including cell phones and PDAs.
EMS also lets users send and receive messages from their primary work address, rather than from a Yahoo or AOL address. The MessageOne software can also be configured to send E-mail or text messages to users notifying them that a company's main E-mail system is down. That way, employees will know to log into the service.
"It's an insurance policy," asserts Peter Minton, who should know something about such things. Minton is chief risk officer at Max Re Insurance, a Bermuda-based reinsurer. During Hurricane Fabian, Max Re switched on the EMS service just in case E-mail service was knocked out by the storm. While the carrier has a broad disaster-recovery plan—including backup data servers in Dublin—it takes hours to switch over to those servers. Says Minton: "We don't even want to think about the repercussions of an E-mail outage on our client relations or our revenue stream."
Other executives have similar concerns. Lynn McGuire, CIO of Andrews & Kurth, a Houston-based law firm, activated its EMS service in June when a major server upgrade was required. In lieu of scheduling an outage to accommodate the upgrade, the firm activated the EMS to maintain E-mail systems during it. According to McGuire, the backup E-mail system was up and running in 15 minutes, and "the outside world never saw a difference in our communications."


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Thursday, January 5, 2012
~too early to wish for spring?~
23 comments:
- Beach House Living said...
No, it is not too early to wish for spring!
- January 5, 2012 at 10:44 AM
- Unknown said...
Not to early!! If only I could have an all white house!
- January 5, 2012 at 10:52 AM
- Victoria said...
I'm sitting here in 80 degree weather praying for it to cool down so I can cozy up! Isn't it funny, no matter we're never happy with the weather!
I'll box you up some sun if you'll send me some cold weather:) - January 5, 2012 at 11:01 AM
- Vintage Home said...
I am not ready for the next season ...but anticipating it none the less...these are amazing images!
You are so right iron stone & roses ...bliss! - January 5, 2012 at 11:33 AM
- THE FARMHOUSE PORCH said...
As soon as the xmas decor comes down I start thinking about spring, even though I love winter.
Beautiful pics!
Linsey - January 5, 2012 at 11:53 AM
- June said...
I love Jo-Anne's style Shellagh. I remember years ago when I saw her in a magazine and fell for her art and home. I can't remember the magazine right now, but I still have it in my stash somewhere.
Our weather here has been so Springlike that it is actually getting scary :) We don't have a speck of snow anywhere.
hugs from here... - January 5, 2012 at 12:34 PM
- Sarah said...
Actually feels like a spring day here. This post has me dreaming of spring flowers! ~ Sarah
- January 5, 2012 at 12:43 PM
- Katie @ sweetgirlexpressions said...
I've been wishing for spring since November......
- January 5, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- It's me said...
I wish i wish.......yes spring !!!....love from me...xxx..
- January 5, 2012 at 2:04 PM
Happy Spring to you and wouldn"t it be great if it got here early..Snow here now and cold.....
- January 5, 2012 at 3:24 PM
- Stephanie said...
I'm ready for spring too! I must say though - we are having a gorgeous week here in Texas!
- January 5, 2012 at 4:17 PM
- Fresh Vanilla For C said...
Those pictures are so lovely. It was 87 degrees here today so I am hoping for winter to actually arrive.
Hope you are having a great night!
~Cheryl - January 5, 2012 at 5:43 PM
- chateau chic said...
It's been so cold here in Northern Virginia this week that these lovely photographs are a reminder that spring will come sooner or later!
Mary Alice - January 5, 2012 at 7:26 PM
- Heaven's Walk said...
Not at all, Shell-Bell! lol! Winter really hasn't even started here in MI yet because of our lack of snow....and I'm already pining for spring. lol! But then again...if it were up to me, it could go from November right into April and I'd be happy. :) [Had to pin a couple of your photos, btw. Does that surprise you...??? lol!]
xoxo laurie - January 5, 2012 at 7:28 PM
- ℳartina @ Northern Nesting said...
Hi Shellagh, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment. Following you back:) Martina
- January 5, 2012 at 7:42 PM
- helen tilston said...
Hello Shellagh
Spring is my favourite season of all.
I love the Spring flowers and all the new buds
An uplifting post, thank you.
Helen xx - January 5, 2012 at 8:58 PM
quelle plaisir de voir ces rose ,ma fleur préférée,
les une ou les autres sont ravissante,
belle journée
rose - January 5, 2012 at 9:35 PM
- Pansy Cottage Girl said...
Its dreamy!
- January 6, 2012 at 11:28 AM
- Confessions of a Plate Addict said...
I'm thinking the same thing! I hope that your 2012 is off to a great start! Happy Saturday!...hugs...Debbie
- January 7, 2012 at 11:16 AM
- Special 'K' said...
We are looking to a let up with our extremely hot weather here, so spring would be wonderful but thats not until September. What an amazing space you have here. I will follow on my way out and hope you can find the time to come visit me and do the same. I look forward to engaging throughout twenty twelve with you. Cheers SpecialK XoXo
- January 8, 2012 at 1:59 PM
- A Cozy Cottage in the City said...
Hi Shellagh,
Beautiful - love those images! I too have been thinking of spring. I just came across your most beautiful blog and am loving it! Just signed up as your follower. Looking forward to your posts!!!
Jessie - January 8, 2012 at 3:38 PM
- Honey I'm Home Blog said...
Wow, those ARE lovely, serene images. BTW, as a Pixie Dust follower, you are invited to pop over & enter a giveaway for an awesome clock. Good luck & thanks for reading!
Warmly, Michelle - January 8, 2012 at 8:45 PM
- Irenelfdc said...
Actually feels like a spring day here. This post has me dreaming of spring flowers! ~ Sarah
- February 27, 2013 at 7:15 PM